Thought Zone

Inspiration for Procurement Professionals

Thought Zone

We believe in and are passionate about procurement and the supply chain. We think about it a lot. It’s what we do.

Because suppliers provide the majority of your company’s goods and services; their bottom line impact is significant and your organizations next breakthrough may come from your suppliers, not R&D to drive growth.

Scene 2 Balancing Procurement Bench Strength: The Future of Procurement: Shaping the Team The Future of Procurement: Shaping the Team – In the previous post “Commanding the Stage” we discussed the players that are already shaping procurements future with whom the CPO must engage and command the stage. Here we discuss the CPO’s talent pool and the players they can select to ensure they have the strongest bench. In scene two,

It’s About Cost Management Not Just Spend Management: What’s it about? CPO’s must link procurement strategies to value by developing a much deeper understanding of their organisations cost structure, and then develop a more strategic approach to managing cost to avoid damaging panic cost reduction programs in diifficult times. 1. The Brave CPO: Optimising Cost for Value Introduction: Their organisations ability to compete over the long term is a key

Collaborations strategic value proposition can unlock the door to innovation and sustainable growth, CEO’s and CPO’s must turn the key A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and CPO’s on how procurement can play a lead role in partner collaboration to secure a sustainable competitive advantage What’s in it for you? Discover why developing a collaborative capability will support sustainable growth and higher margins, and why making Supply Management a Core Competency

The Brave CPO: Creating Procurement Entrepreneurs The Brave CPO: Creating Procurement Entrepreneurs – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and CPO’s on how their procurement organisation can develop an entrepreneurial role and capabilities to capture innovation and support of growth. What’s in it for you? Competitive advantage and growth Reading time: 10 minutes 1. Introduction “You don’t make money when you sell you make it when you buy” This metaphor suggests

The Brave CPO: Leading Business Growth The Brave CPO: Leading Business Growth – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and CPO’s on how leading procurement practices can make a powerful contribution to their company’s plan for growth. What’s in it for you? Discover why developing capability in supply management will provide powerful fuel for growth, and why making Supply Management a Core Competency will provide a real competitive edge and prevent

A Guide to Global Sourcing for Competitive Advantage A Guide to Global Sourcing for competitive advantage – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s, and CPO’s, on how global sourcing can contribute to business objectives for sustainable competitive advantage What’s in it for you? Improved sourcing effectiveness and value from your supply base Reading time: 15 minutes 1. Introduction: Global sourcing has become an economic imperative for many organisations. Increased competition, globalisation,

The Brave CPO: Leading on Innovation Innovation Centred Procurement: We explain how CPO’s can make the connection with the top line. What’s in it for you? Increased value from procurement and your suppliers by capturing innovation. Reading time: 15 minutes Preface: Except for a small number of select organisations, the buy side of innovation remains greatly under-exploited which can damage the company’s innovation pipeline. For the CEO, it can mean

Procurement: Greening the Machine Procurement: Greening the Machine – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and CPO’s on why procurement is a key capability in developing advantage via corporate social responsibility What’s in it for you? Improved risk and reputation management in your supply chain Reading time: 15 minutes Peer pressure, tougher legislation, a rise in global sourcing combined with increased consumer and stakeholder awareness and concern, has served to drive

Procurement Capability: People Matter Most Procurement Capability: People Matter Most – There is no shortage of procurement experts prepared to offer their unique recipe for successful procurement transformation. Experts will offer improved processes, better use of technology, the need for management support, yet many procurement functions find lasting success elusive. Why is this? Because it’s the people that matter most. 1. Its about the people stupid! They forget transformation does not happen simply by providing the “tools”, it’s always the people that are the key factor in creating procurement success. In the Supply Management article ‘The Lifeblood of Procurement,’ the writer makes the point that “people that do the work, people – not computers, strategies, or ‘world-class’ tools and templates”. It is one of the reasons why many procurement transformation

Strategic Outsourcing Strategic Outsourcing: The ‘make or buy’ decision is still at the heart of business strategy A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and CPO’s on developing a formal outsourcing strategy to support their core business goals What’s in it for you? Discover how to take control of outsourcing by developing a systematic outsourcing methodology as a core sourcing management tool in your organization. Reading time: 10 minutes Introduction: Businesses globally are under pressure like never before to meet strategic goals, reduce costs, provide efficiency improvements and even survive. In response, many CEOs are committed to outsourcing as many of their non-strategic operations as possible over the next few years. Most companies do not have a formal process by which to do so. CPO’s should, therefore, ensure they have an outsourcing

Purchasing Leader or Laggard? Purchasing Leader or Laggard? – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and purchasing leaders to assess how well their purchasing organization, strategies & processes have adapted to changes in the competitive environment? Many readers will be in the fortunate position of working in businesses that are growing strongly; others will be part of businesses that are in a dynamic rapidly changing market place whilst others are fighting for their very survival. In all these situations those organizations will be focused on the objectives of delivering sustained growth, customer and shareholder value and achieving improved profitability. At Purchasing Practice we believe our experience places us in a unique position to provide thoughtful strategies on how purchasing can make a powerful contributions to these objectives. Through our experience we

Managing Procurement Through a Downturn: Managing Procurement Through a Downturn – A guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and purchasing leaders on Surviving the Tough Times though Procurement Excellence What’s in it for you? Create opportunities to out-manoeuvre your competitors by building sustainable competitive advantage, and prepare for the next growth phase. Reading time: 15 minutes Introduction: Economic downturns typically are accompanied by large inventory build-ups and cut-backs in orders which cascade down the supply chain, often having a devastating effect on unprepared suppliers. In such a climate businesses large and small cannot afford to wait and do nothing. A typical response might be that sales are good, and costs are bad, followed by a financial crack down, to limit the damage to the company’s market capitalization and the level of shareholder